Page | 1

RREELLIIGGIIOONN,, PPOOLLIITTIICCSS AANNDD VVIIOOLLEENNCCEE::

AA RREEPPOORRTT OOFF TTHHEE HHOOSSTTIILLIITTYY AANNDD IINNTTIIMMIIDDAATTIIOONN FFAACCEEDD BBYYCCHHRRIISSTTIIAANNSS IINN IINNDDIIAA IINN 22001100

KARNATAKA

It is the eighth largest Indian state covering 191,976 sq km, the ninth largest by population andcomprises 30 districts. As per 2001 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is 52,850,562, ofwhich Christians number slightly more than 1 million. With at least 56 incidents of anti-Christianviolence this, Karnataka for the past two years saw more attacks on Christians in this year than anyother state in India .

Tensions are high in the districts of Davangere, Mangalore, Bangalore, and also potentially volatileare the districts of Chickmagalur, Chitradurga, Belgaum, Tumkur, Udupi, Shimago,Bagalkot, Karwarand Kodagu. The state is ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party.

23 January: In Khatkal, a group of miscreants desecrated a cross put up on the altar of the churchleaving it severely disfigured.

24 January: In Bidarikere, Chitradurga , alleged Hindu extremists forced into the worship meeting ofIndian Evangelical Mission church and assaulted a Christian worker H. Raju. The extremists accusedRaju of forceful conversion, beat him up, and burned up Bibles and Christian literature, threateninghim to stop worshipping Jesus or face dire consequences.

25 January: In Hinkal, suspected Hindu extremists damaged a statue, crashed it and pulled it down.Police investigated the matter.

28 January: In Rajpura, Chitradurga, a group of unknown culprits poured gallons of kerosene onJesus Loves Holy Temple Church, and set the Church on fire and burned it down after threateningChurch members to stop worshipping Jesus or face dire consequences.

29 January: In Chitradurga, alleged Hindu extremists set a church on fire and burned it down to ashes

1 February: In Kodagu, police arrested 11 tribal Christians from Beraka Gospel Church after Hinduextremists lodged a complaint against them of forceful conversion

3 February: In Mandhya, miscreant attacked St Matthias church, broke down the doors, took awaysacred vessels amd clothes kept under the drawer and broke the tabernacle.

Page | 2

4 February: In Mandhya, Hindu extremists vandalized St. Matthias Church, destroying furniture andmusical instruments, leaving rubbles behind. Police complaint was lodged.

13 February: In Kundapur Taluk, miscreants destroyed the statue of Infant Jesus, grossly disfiguringit.

28 February: In Karwar, Hindu extremists allegedly led by municipal councilor accused David Lambaniand Satish of forceful conversion and beat them up till they fell unconscious on the road.

28 February: In Karwar, alleged Hindu extremists beat up pastor John Quodros and two churchmembers and ordered them to stop constructing the church and to vacate the area.

8 March: In Periyapattunam, Mysore, Hindu extremists disrupted a prayer meeting of Gospel inAction Fellowship and beat Pastor Ravi Chandran, a complaint was lodged at Somvarpet policestation.10 March: In Chellur, police detained Pastor Hanume Nayak of Good Shepherd Community Churchafter local leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad filed a complaint against them of forceful conversion.

15 March: In Borgunta, Sullai Tulak, police arrested pastor Valsalan of Bethesda Assembly of God’schurch after alleged Hindu extremists lodged a complaint against him of forceful conversion .Thepastor was sent to central jail.

17 March: In Arsikere, a mob of Hindu extremists allegedly from the Bajrang Dal, shouting Hinduslogan exhumed the dead body and dumped it 3kms away from the cemetery claming that the deadbody of a Christian contaminate the soil.

25 March: In Hunsur, police arrested Thammaiah, Sureh, Muthappa from Good Samaritan Churchafter Hindu extremists force their way into the funeral service of a church member, beat theChristians and lodged a complaint against them of forceful conversion.

6 April: In Kodagu, police arrested 12 pastors on charges of forceful conversion and sent them to jailafter the Hindu extremists filed a police complaint against the Christians of forceful conversion.

19 April: In Belur, police detained Guru Gowriah and Puttuswamy Bhadraia for four hours after Hinduextremists verbally abused them for their faith and filed a complaint against them of forcefulconversion.

1 May: In Hunsur, police arrested four Christians after alleged Hindu extremists found Christianstalking to the local people and thereafter filed a baseless complaint against them of forcefulconversion.

2 May: In K.R Nagar, Hindu extremists allegedly from the Bajrang Dal disrupted the Sunday worshipservice (May 2), verbally abused the Christians for their faith and beat up a pastor Elisha and thenfiled a case against him under use of un- authorized worship place. Police warned the Christian not toconduct worship meetings in future.

11 May: In Hunnavar, miscreants pelted stoned at Holy Cross Church, damaging window frames andglasses, causing extensive damage to the church properties.

Page | 3

18 May: In Hubli, alleged Hindu extremists barged into the prayer meeting of Evangelist EdwardBellary and three women from Mayer Memorial Church. The extremist beat up the Christiansaccusing them of forceful conversion.

19 May: In Mandhya, police arrested two Christians after Hindu extremists allegedly from the BajrangDal attacked a Vocational Bible School (VBS) and accused Pastor(s) Shanth Kumar and Nagesh Kumarof forceful conversion.

27 May: In Rajanpura, alleged Hindu extremist accused pastor Siddanagowda Barmanagowda offorcible conversion and disrupted a worship service. The extremist dragged the pastor to the policestation. The police told Pastor Barmanagowda to vacate his home and leave the area.

7 June: In Chickmagalur, police arrested two Christian women from Jesus Prayer Team after allegedHindu extremists disrupted the Sunday worship meeting and accused them of creating communaldisharmony and of disrupting the peace.

9 June: In Okkere, Belgaum, Police arrested Pastor Vasanthe Kathedar of New India Church afteralleged Hindu extremists disrupted a prayer meeting and accused him of creating communaldisharmony and disrupting the peace.

13 June: In Anekal, alleged Hindu extremists accused Pastor Sam Joseph of forceful conversion andbeat him up. The police force the pastor to declared that he will restrain himself from conductingChristian meetings in future.

16 June: In Karwar, officials closed down Spring of Hope Orphanage & Vocational Arts TrainingCentre after Hindu extremists filed a complaint against the Christians of forceful conversion.

23 June: In Chandapura, alleged Hindu extremists accused pastor(s) Shidu Kurialose and HithyaVachanam from Bethel Assembly of God’s Church of forceful conversion seriously injuring them.

8 August: In Chitradurga police arrested Pastor Shibu Isaac and Hema Naik after alleged Hinduextremists claimed that the Christians are running girls hostel for forceful conversion purpose andfiled a complaint against them.

8 August: In Kanagiri, alleged Hindu extremists disrupted a fasting prayer meeting accusing theChristians of forceful conversion. The Police Sub Inspector took a written statement from theChristians not to conduct meetings in homes and also threatened that he will file a case against themin future if the incident is repeated.

13 August: In Birur, alleged Hindu extremists along with police personnel raided a home prayer groupled by Pastor Dileep. The extremists verbally abused the Christians for their faith and took them tothe police station. The Christian were released without charges after area Christian leaders’intervention.

15 August: In Mandhya, Police arrested Pastor Satish and Evangelist Ravi after alleged Hinduextremists disrupted the worship meeting, accusing them of forceful conversion and lodged acomplaint against them.

Page | 4

19 August: In Bagalkote, Belgaum alleged Hindu extremists attacked Pastor Enoch and two girls fromOperational Mobilization as they were screening a film on Jesus. The extremists seized the screeningequipment, literature and took them to the police station. The Christians were released after thepolice sternly warned them not to hold such programme again.

20 August: In Bendwada, Belgaum alleged Hindu extremists accused a pastor of luring people toconvert to Christianity and damaged Bibles and Christian literatures. . As the police could notobtained from the extremists an evidence of their allegation against Pastor David of forcefulconversion, they forced the pastor to put in writing that he forcefully convert people by inducingthem with money and that he will not conduct any Christian meetings in future.

24 August: In Madalawada, Haliya, Christians face social boycott and Father Philip Rock from St.Sebastian Church was charged with ‘causing disharmony’ after Christians refused to follow Hindurituals and practice to stop the spread of cholera in the area.

29 August: In Mysore, alleged Hindu extremists disrupted the worship meeting of EbenezerAssembly of God Church and beat up Pastor Ravi George and one church member identified only asRamu. The Christians sustained serious head and hand injuries and they received hospital treatment.Police compliant was submitted.

1 September: In Mysore, Police stopped a pastors’ meeting in Mysore, claiming that they were beingtrained to “convert people”. Police arrived and ordered the organizers to vacate the premises by thenext day. Even though such trainings are legally permitted in India, the Christians called off themeeting.

3 September: In Ramnagar, police entered a Calvary Fellowship Prayer house church meeting led byPastor P.R. Jose and ordered him to immediately stop the service. Accusing the Christians of forcefulconversion, the police ordered the close down of the church. The matter was solved under areaChristian leaders’ help.

5 September: In Doni Gagad, a mob of about 100 Hindu extremists on Sept. 5 barged into the housechurch worship of a congregation of the Indian Pentecostal Church and beat Pastor MallikarjunaSangalad, ripped Bibles, tore his clothes and beat him. Police arrived and arrested Pastor Sangalad,where they ordered him to stop leading worship meetings.

14 September: In Byappanahalli, near Bengaluru, Hindu extremists attacked a church building,accusing area Christians of large-scale, forcible conversion. Under pressured, police issued a notice tothe church to stop construction and issued arrest warrants against the pastor and seven others.

19 September: In Santhemarnalli, police led by Inspector Madhava Swamy threatened PastorMhades of Good Shepherd Community Church with harm if he did not stop alleged “forcefulconversion” activities after Hindu extremists filed the complaint against him.

26 September: In Mundgod, police arrested a Pentecostal pastor, Shivanda Siddi, on false charges of“forceful conversions” after five Hindu extremists stormed the church building while Christians were

Page | 5

praying and began arguing with the pastor. They beat him, stripped him of his clothes and tookBibles from those present.

26 September: In Yellapura, Karwar, alleged Hindu extremists broke into the worship meeting ofGnanodya Church after having filed a complaint against Pastor Shiva Ram of “forcible conversions “and vandalize the church, pulling down calendars and breaking furniture. Police took the pastor intocustody and jailed him.

2 October: In Chintamani, Kolar, About 40 people barged into New Public School during theconcluding prayer that morning and began selectively beating the pastors, striking the wife of one ofthem in the stomach, killing her unborn child. Police arrested two extremists.

6 October: In Beridigere, Davanagere, a Christian family that converted from Hinduism wasassaulted because of their faith in Christ. Two members received severe injuries and werehospitalized. The assailants also vandalized the house, damaging the roof and three with largeboulders.

October 13: In Emarakuntte, Kolar district, alleged Hindu extremists stormed into a Christian worshipservice, beat those attending and confiscated Bibles and vehicle and accused the Christians offorceful conversion. Police forced the pastor to give a written statement that he would stopChristian activities in the village. Only then were the Bibles and vehicle returned. No worship washeld on Sunday (Oct. 10).

15 October: In Bidra, Chikmagalur, Police detained pastor Surendra for more than three hours afterHindu nationalists disrupted the worship of Calvary Assemblies of God Church and beat him allegingforceful conversion.

20 October: In Bellakatte village, near Chitradurga, Pastor Mallappa Hanumanthappa Andrew ofSamadhana Prayer House and his brother were walking on a village road when six area extremistswaylaid them and began slapping the pastor, accusing him of forcible conversion. Police arrestedfour extremists, charged them with unlawful assembly and released them after two hours.

29 October: In Uttara Kannada, Police detained five Christians for about 6 hours after they bargedinto Blessing Youth Mission Church accompanied by alleged Hindu extremists and media persons.The Christians were released without charges.

29 October 29: In Nelamangala, Bangalore, Police arrested Pastor Muthyalan Paul on Oct. 26 inNelamangala, Bangalore, after Muslim radicals barged into a prayer meeting, accused him of forcefulconversion, tore Bibles and damaged household items. The Christian was released on bail the nextday.

2 December: In Udayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka police arrested Pastor Johnson after Hinduextremists beat him up and accused him of forceful conversion. The pastor was sent to Bangalorecentral jail.

Page | 6

2 December: In Hova Maru, near Bangalore, a mob of about 20 alleged Hindu extremists led byMajunath threatened to rape a Christian convert woman, Vijayalakshmi, if she did not convert backto Hinduism.

5 December: In Kengeri, Bangalore alleged Hindu extremists pressurized the Slum Boardadministrative to demolished Gypsy Prayer Church. Under pressured, the board subsequently issuedan order to demolish the church.

5 December: In Shimoga, police arrested four Christians after alleged Hindu extremists from theBajrang Dal disrupted their prayer meeting, verbally abused them for their faith and dragged them tothe police station.

8 December: In Gonikoppa, Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal attacked Christians from ShakinaFull Gospel Church amid their prayer meeting seriously injuring two persons. Police advised theChristians not to conduct future prayer meetings for security purposes

Page | 7

CHHATTISGARH

With its capital Raipur, Chhattisgarh is flanked by Madhya Pradesh on the northwest, Maharashtra onthe west, Andhra Pradesh on the south, Orissa on the east, Jharkhand on the northeast and UttarPradesh on the north with the state having 176.15 lakhs population. Chhattisgarh has a higherproportion of Scheduled Tribes and Schedule Castes. Tribals constitute about 32.5% of the totalpopulation of the state.

Of the 176.15 lakhs total population, Christians make up about 1.71 percent. The state witnessed thesecond highest rate of attack against the Christians this year. The state is ruled by Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP).

22 January: In Champa, police arrested eight Christians under Section 3 and 4 of the ChhattisgarhFreedom of Religion Act after Hindu extremists filed a complaint against them of forcefulconversion. The Christians were sent to Jangir jail.

20 February: In Champa, police arrested a Christian worker, Adhwan, on charges of forcefulconversion and sent him to Champa jail. The Christian was released on bail on the following day.

6 March: In Kawarda, police arrested six Christians after Hindu extremists lodged a complaint againstthem of forceful conversion but later released them on bail.

9 March: In Kawarda, alleged Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal beat Pastor Sanatan Masih ofThe Christian Church and warned him to leave the area.

21 March: In Nandini, Durg, police arrested three Christians after alleged Hindu extremists lodged acomplaint against them of insulting the national flag. The extremists carrying the national flagentered into the Personality Development Centre for Youth, attacked the students and teachers,burned Bibles and gospel literatures.

21 March: In Raipur, alleged Hindu extremists allegedly stopped the Sunday prayer meeting ofEbenezer church, accused the Christians of forceful conversion, tore Bible and Christian literatureand closed the church. The police detained the Christians for seven hours in the station.

21 March: In Kasdol, alleged Hindu extremists forced their way into the Sunday worship service ofBelievers Church, threatened and verbally abused the Christians and confiscated Bibles and otherliteratures. Police detained the Christians for three hours.

27 March: In Bilaspur, alleged Hindu extremists allegedly accused the church members of Assemblyof God’s church of forceful conversion, disrupted the special meeting of the church and verballyabused the Christians for their faith.

Page | 8

4 April: In Bilaspur, alleged Hindu extremist allegedly stopped the Easter Sunday worship of Churchof North India (CNI) and accused pastor Bhaktu Lakda and church members of forceful conversion.

15 April: In Bhilai, police arrested four Christians after Hindu extremists filed a complaint againstthem of forcible conversion. The extremists beat up the Christians from Bhilai Brethen Church andthey were sent to Durg jail.

13 May: In Maroda, Bhilai, alleged Hindu extremists alleged attacked a cottage prayer meetingconducted in Dewangoan’s house and accused the Christians of forceful conversion. Police detainedDewangoan, for about four hours and released him after warning him to stop conducting prayermeeting his house.

17 May: In Jagbalpur, allegedly Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal attacked ChildrenDevelopment Programme (CDP) and beat Pastor Rahul Pant and two teachers. Subsequently theprogramme was stopped.

29 August: In Sivaho, Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, police arrested Pastor Dilip Chakradhari, Ganga Ramand Shankar Lal after Hindu extremists filed a complaint against them of forceful conversion. TheChristians were sent to Dhamtari jail on the day of arrests.

12 September: In Rajgarh alleged Hindu extremists beat evangelist Robinson Roat and ordered himto stop all Christian activities. They told him he would face further harm if he left his house. TheChristian did not venture out for two days.

15 September: In Raipur, Hindu extremists misrepresenting themselves as journalists barged into aprayer meeting led by Pastor Kamlakarrao Bokada and accused him of “forceful conversion,”verbally abused him and falsely accused him of dishonoring their idols. Police refused to register acomplaint by Christ.

28 September: In Rajnandgan, alleged Hindu extremists assaulted Pastor Suresh Deep as he went tothe police station to get one church member out on bail, who was falsely charged for joining anassembly likely to cause a disturbance. The extremists verbally abused pastor Deep, beat him andforced him to drink dirty water and to write that he would refrain from any conversion activity. Policeregistered a case against the attackers.

6 November: In Raipur, Alleged Hindu extremists disrupted a Christian youth meeting and accused anorganization, Vision India, of forcible conversion for conducting the meeting. Police ordered theorganizers to submit a list of participants and the meeting was concluded under heavy policeprotection.

15 November: In Raipur, Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal barged into the Sunday worshipmeeting of a house church of Roopesh Kumar and attack the Christians. The extremists verballyabused the Christians, kicked and slapped them and later dragged to the police station. The officerreleased the Christians without charges after strictly warning them not to conduct future meetingsat their home or face dire consequences.

Page | 9

ANDHRA PRADESH

Andhra Pradesh, extending over an area of 2,75,045 sq.km is the fifth largest state in India both interms of area as well as population. The population according to 2001 census was 66,500,000 withChristians making 2.35 percent of the population.

The state saw the third highest rate of attack against the Church from January to August this year.Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa bound the state in the North, the Bay of Bengal in the East,Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on the South and Karnataka and Maharashtra on the West.

Among the tense areas where Christians frequent faced difficulties are Mahaboobnagar, Hyderabad,Secunderabad and Ranga Reddy district. The state is ruled by the Indian National Congress Party.10 January: In Hyderabad, alleged Hindu extremists attacked the worship service of Haven’s GloryChurch and beat up Christians including women and children.

22 January: In Pahari Shariff, Hyderabad, suspected Hindu extremists burned down a church toashes, causing serious injury to a pastor in his attempts to extinguish the fire. FIR was registered.

29 January: In Secunderabad, Hindu extremists accused Pastor Satyam Yellasiri of Good ShepherdCommunity Church of forceful conversion and forced him to eat the food offered to Hindu idols.

1 February: In Madiga Konda, Krishna District, a 25 foot tall Hoy Cross was attacked, apparently witha sharp –object leaving the Holy Cross severely disfigured.

8 February: In Kalalada Mandal, a group of miscreants set ablaze the newly built church, aftersplashing several gallons of kerosene and set it ablaze. The lost is estimated to be around 3 lakhs.

31 March: In R.R District, alleged Hindu extremists interrupted the worship service of Almighty GodChurch, broke the window glasses of the church and threatened Pastor Pusuloori Yohan to close thechurch or face dire consequences.

26 April: In Mahaboobnagar, alleged Hindu extremists attacked Pastor(s) Daniel and Joshua,damaged church furniture and sound system. The extremists on the next day beat the two pastorsand ordered them not to conduct Christian meetings in future.

9 May: In Nellore, alleged Hindu extremists tried to burn a pastor and his church after one extremistidentified only as Babu barged into the meeting disturb the service but sadly died on the next day,Blaming the pastor for the death of the attacker, they attacked the pastor and urged him to leavethe area.

23 May: In Tadipatri, Anatapur, allegedly Hindu extremists allegedly from the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh damaged the church construction of Holy Spirit Prayer and installed an idol of the Hindu godHanuman inside the hall.

Page | 10

24 May: In Mahabubnagar, alleged Hindu extremists attacked Pastor T.Paul as he was returning froma worship meeting. The extremists pulled the pastor out from his vehicle and beat him up.

12 June: In Ranga Reddy, suspected Hindu extremists stoned Don Bosco Church, broke the statues ofMother Mary installed in the church’s premises and pelted stoned to the church.

6 June: In Parawada Mandal, Vishakapatnam, alleged Hindu extremists pulled down a church andthreatened the believers to leave the area after they opposed to the church construction and alsobeat up Pastor Philip.

17 September: In Kurnool, Police arrested a Christian convert from Islam, Sheik Magbool, afterMuslim extremists filed a complaint against him of uttering derogatory remarks against the prophetof Islam, Muhammad, in Kurnool. Area Christian leaders maintained that the tracts did not containany hateful remarks against Muhammad; they asserted that the Muslim extremists reprinted thetracts after adding some lines insulting to Muhammad in order to fabricate a case against theChristians.

13 September: In Vizianagaram , Hindu extremists attacked a pastor’s wife during his absence ,injuring her head after they threatened Pastor Y. Caleb Raj of the Good Shepherd Community Churchto close the church and leave the area the day before.

12 December: In Guntalal, miscreants chopped off the heads of the statues of Saint John and MaryMagdalene and disfigured Mother Mary’s face in the replica of Calvary near the Shrine.

Page | 11

MADHYA PRADESH

Madhya Pradesh, often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. It borders the states UttarPradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The state has an area of 308,252 km2(119,017 sq mi).

Since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in Madhya Pradesh inDecember 2003, Christians in the state have suffered increased attacks and concerted efforts to tarnishtheir image, reported church leaders. Madhya Pradesh has a Christian population of 170,381, only 0.3percent of the total in the state, according to the 2001 census. The state's history of religiousintolerance runs deep, with an "anti-conversion" law passed in 1968 that has serves as a pretext forharassing Christians. The state saw the fourth highest rate of anti- Christian violence across thecountry from January to August this year. The State is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

28 March: In Jabalpur, alleged Hindu extremists accused Pastor Francis Xavier of Apostolic ChristianAssemblies and six church members of forceful conversion and disrupted the worship meeting. TheChristians were released without any charges as the police found that the allegations against themwere false and baseless.

15 April: In Balaghat, Hindu extremists allegedly from the Bajrang Dal hurled a petrol bomb into thethree days Christian convention, disrupted the prayer meeting of a Christian convention, accusingthem of forceful conversion and beat them up. The meeting was concluded under police protection.

17 April: In Betul, armed Hindu extremists disrupted a Christian crusade when people in fright startedrunning off in different directions to escape the attack including Pastor Amit Gilbert. After realizingthat Pastor Amit Gilbert was lost, a search team was formed and they found his dead body in thewell. A large section of area Christians believes that Gilbert was forcefully threw into the well.

5 July: In Jabalpur, police arrested Pastor Vishal Lal and Sharavan Kumar from the Apostolic Christianchurch after Hindu extremists accused them of forceful conversion. The pastors were released onbail the following day.

16 July: In Balaghat, unidentified assailants demolished a church construction. About 30 men atabout the same time, in July 2009, entered the pastor house and dragged him out to beat him. Heescaped when villagers heeded his cries and came to his rescue.

18 July: In Barwada, alleged Hindu extremists on 18 July disrupted the Christian worship meetingconducted by Pastor Subhash Chauhan of the Indian Evangelical Team, threatening the pastor not tocontinue with Christian activities in the area or face dire consequences.

Page | 12

20 July: In Balaghat, alleged Hindu extremists accused two Christians workers, Mahindra Kharoleyand Munshi Bahey of forceful conversion, severely beat them and left them bleeding on the jungleroad.

15 August: In Dhanora, Lakhnadon, opposing the Christian for his faith, alleged Hindu extremiststhreatened a convert Christian Achelal Jhariya and filed a police complaint against him of forcefulconversion and that he has constructed his house for conversion activities to the governmentofficials.

16 August: In Dhar, police arrested Pastor (s) Balu Pita Kesav and Rajesh Pita Alam after allegedHindu extremists beat them up disrupted their prayer meeting.

12 September: In Satna, Hindu extremists accused Pastor V.A. Anthony of “forceful conversion” andof carrying out the funeral of a non-Christian in a local Christian cemetery. Based on the complaint ofthe Hindu extremists, the inspector general of police summoned Pastor Anthony and a high-levelinquiry is pending. The son of a local church member had died under mysterious circumstancesearlier this year, and the pastor and church members had buried him in the Christian cemeteryaccording to the wishes of his parents and other relatives.

16 September: In Jabalpur, alleged Hindu extremists attacked a building belonging to the BelieversChurch in Jabalpur, bringing it to the ground, claiming that they would not allow any church to existin the area.

19 October: In Chattarpur, alleged Hindu extremists accused Pastor Kunal Parichha of forciblyconverting people and sending them to Bible College and threatened to harm his life if he continuedto conduct worship services.

31 October: In Neemuch, alleged Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal barged into a worshipmeeting shouting Hindu slogans and accused Rev. K. Abraham and church members of forcefulconversion by offering people monetary benefits.

Page | 13

UTTAR PRADESH

With an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,290 kms), Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile anddensely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal to the northalong with the Indian state of Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh to the north-west, Haryana, Delhi andRajasthan on the west, Madhya Pradesh on the south, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south eastand Bihar on the east.

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India with a population of over 190 million people ofwhich Christians constitutes about less than 1 percent. The state is considered to be the birth place ofHinduism. According to our record, the state witnessed 7 attacks against the church in the first eightmonths of this year. The State is ruled by Bahujan Samaj Party.

25 March: In Ekta Vihar, Ghaziabad, alleged Hindu extremists attacked Pastor Gladwin Masih and onechurch member as they were returning back home after worship meeting and beat them up withcricket stumps and hockey sticks.15 April: In Mohan area, Unnao, police arrested Budhi Ram and Vijay Phule after Hindu extremistslodged a complaint against them of making derogatory remarks against the Hindu gods while theywere conducting a prayer meeting.

6 May: In Kanpur, Hindu extremists allegedly from the Bajrang Dal attacked a prayer meeting,damaged the church board, beat up Pastor Dalayu, accusing him of forceful conversion andthreatened to kill his one year son.

5 September: In Naggal, members of Arya Samaj , sect of Hinduism disrupted a church serviceand accused Pastor Rockwell Louis of Masih Satsang Mandali of eating meat and converting people.The mob argued that the Bible is wrong and presents a false God. They had warned that they wouldreturn September 12 and would not allow Sunday worship service to take place.

12 September: In Naggal, 35 members of Arya Samaj, sect of Hinduism disrupted a church service andargued with Pastor Rockwell Louis of Masih Satsang Mandali and accused him and church people offorceful conversion. Police rescued the Christians

20 June: in Gorakhpur, alleged Hindu extremists shouting anti- Christian slogans disrupted theSunday worship Service, accused Pastor Benny George from Apostolic Christian Assembly Church offorceful conversion and threatened him not to conduct Christian meetings in future or face direconsequences.

23 July: In Kanpur, alleged Hindu extremists barged into the worship meeting of Indian Pentecostal,verbally abused the Christians for their faith and told them to close down the meeting. Subsequently,the meeting was closed down.

24 July: In Telibag, police detained four Bible students who were engaged in serving the poor andunderprivileged in the area accusing them of forceful conversion. The students were releasedwithout charges after questioning.

Page | 14

8 August: In Mailani Lakimpur Kheri, alleged Hindu extremists accompanied by police stormed aChristian prayer meeting in Mailani town, took Pastor Robert W. Samson to the police station.Allegedly, the police threatened to shut down the church and prohibited the congregation fromgathering there next Sunday.

5 September: In Jhansi, alleged armed Hindu nationalists from the extremist beat pastor Anil Masihin Sarva village in Babina, Jhansi district. Masih received hospital treatment for a broken left leg.Police complaint was lodged but no arrests were made.

Page | 15

ORISSA

The State of Orissa is located in the eastern coast of India at 17 Degree and is surrounded by AndhraPradesh on the South-East, Madhya Pradesh on the West, Bihar in North, West Bengal in North-Eastand Bay of Bengal in the East. The State has total area of 15,5707 sq. km. The total population stoodat 36,706,920 as per the Census of India 2001. Christian form only 2.4 percent of the state’s population.The state is ruled by the Biju Janata Party.

3 February: In Kandhamal, police arrested 11 Christians based on the complaint lodged by Hinduextremists of ‘assault’. The incident took place when the extremists started beating the Christianswhen the latter verbalized their rights to worship Jesus.

20 February: In Bhabanipatna, police arrested the Rev. Anant Prasad Samantray after Hinduextremists lodged a complaint against him of delivering derogatory remarks against Hinduism.Christians claimed that there was no such remark.

June 8: In Nuapada, alleged Hindu extremists brutally attacked Bhakta Bivar for his faith in Jesus andthreatened to kill him if he and his family continue to believe in Christ claiming that they do not allowthe existence of Christians in the area.

June 9: In Sambalpur, Hindu extremists allegedly from the Bajrang Dal accused Pastor LamuelPatnaik , Pastor N. Philemon and Sudhir Kumar of forceful conversion and attacked them. Thepastors were invited by Biranchi Kistotta to celebrate the healing of his son whom Pastor Panaik hadprayed for some few days back.

August 20: In Kapingia, Kandhamal suspected Hindu extremists assaulted a Christian, SubhashNayak, as he made his way home to Laburi village. It was reported that villagers in Laburi haveplanned to attack atleast one Christian around that date every year, marking the death of a Hinduleader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati.

14 October: In Palikamara, Puri, alleged Hindu extremists confined three recent converts toChristianity in a house, assaulted them, pressured them to deny their new faith and expelled themfrom their village. Police rescued the Christians and warned the extremists not to disturb them again.

Page | 16

KERALA

Kerala is a state in South West India. The state has as area of 38.863 kms and is bordered byKarnataka to the north, Tamil Nadu to the south and the east and the Lakshadweep towards the west.The state has a literacy rate of 94.59 percent, the highest in India. Of the total population of3,18,41,374 Christians are about 19 percent. The state is ruled by Democratic Left Front

The origin of Kerala’s Christians dates back to 52 A.D when St. Thomas came to the region landing inthe port of Cranganore near Cochin. The state witnessed five attacks against the Christian community.

11 February: In Alappuzha, miscreants damaged a grotto of the Pius X church near the Women andChild Hospital in the Beach Ward.

29 March: In Madakara, Wayanand, police detained Pastor Easow Varghese, his wife and threechildren, Evg Biju P. George after Hindu extremists accused them of denigrating Hindu gods. Theextremists stopped them as they were returning home after a film show, beat them up and tookthem to the police station. The Christians were released without charges after area Christian leaders’intervention.

12 April: In Kozhikode, alleged Hindu extremists attacked Pastor Ponnachen from Assembly of God’schurch, pelted stones at his house when after worship service, the Christians screened a film onsocial cause.

17 April: In Perumbavoor, alleged Hindu extremists attacked two Christians from Young MenEvangelical Fellowship (YMEF) who were distributing tracts in Christian homes and burned all theirtracts.

4 July: In Muvatupuzha, allegedly eight Islamic extremists cut off a Christian professor’s T.J Joseph’shand for preparing a question with an allegedly objectionable reference to Prophet Mohammed.

22 September: In Vikas colony, Ambalavayal, alleged Muslim extremists beat a Christian convert fromIslam after they saw him worshipping Jesus on Sept. 22 in Vikas colony, Ambalavayal.. The radicalsalso damaged Pastor Chacko’s pipeline, the source for water for about 10 Christian families, andpelted the pastor’s home with stones, damaging the house.

Page | 17

HARYANA

Haryana, a state in India, is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthanto the west and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttarakhand and UttarPradesh. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southernborders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region.

The population of Haryana, according to the 2001 census, is 21,144,000, with about Christiansnumbering 27,185.The state is ruled by the Indian National Congress.

25 March: In Faridabad, miscreants attacked a Roman Catholic school after the authorities declaredthat school fees have to be clear up by students. Parents, numbering 25 forcefully intruded into theprincipal’s office and assaulted one faculty member, threatening to burn the school building and“make it like Kandhamal in Orissa”.

22 August: In Qutabgarh, New Delhi, alleged Hindu extremists attacked Pastor Isaac Laal from NewChurch of India, accusing him of forceful conversion and threatened to harm his life if he continuesto conduct prayer meetings in future.

Page | 18

MAHARASTRA

According to the 2001 census, Maharashtra exists as the second most populous state. It holds about96,752,247 inhabitants with a density of 322.5 people per sq.mt and Christian’s number about 1percent of the total population. The state is ruled by the Indian National Congress with the NationalCongress Party.

1 August: In Orlem, alleged Hindu extremists ransacked Church of North India’s St Emmanuel Church.Church members Ponkumar Nadar and Nadarshish Nadar sustained serious injuries and receivedtreatment in a local hospital.

11 August: In Pimpri Chinchwad, Police deported five South Koreans including three women afteralleged Hindu extremists filed a complaint against them of forceful conversion. The Christiansmaintained that they were not involved in any conversion attempt and were only conducting Biblereading sessions in Christian homes.

8 December: In Worli, suspected Hindu extremists attacked Christian carols, kicked, punched anddragged them to the police station. Police did not register a case.

Page | 19

TAMIL NADU

Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and it lies in the southernmost part of theIndian Peninsula and is bordered by the States of Puducherry , Kerala, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad onthe west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and bythe Indian Ocean in the south.

According to the 2001 census, the total population stood at 6.29 million. The state covers an area of191,976 square kilometers (74,122 sq mi), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India andChristians number about 37 lakhs. The state is ruled by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

23 March: In Tiruppur, Hindu extremists accused five pastors of carrying gospel tracts to glorifyChristianity and filed a police complaint against them. The police after an enquiry found the Christianinnocent and released them.

22 June: In Mathikere, Hosur, opposing the Christian convention held on June 17-20, alleged Hinduextremists burned at least seven vehicles belonging to Jesus with Us Pentecostal Church.

15 August: In Tanjore, police detained Pastor S Martin Rajasekaran after alleged Hindu extremistsstopped the Sunday worship service, chased away the congregation, seized church’s sound systemand dragged the pastor to the police station. The police released him after giving him an orderpassed by the Law and Order Department barring him from conducting worship meetings at hisresidence.

30 September: In Theni, Police detained evangelist V.K. Williams and seven other Christians afterHindu extremists disrupted their evangelistic meeting and filed a complaint against the Christians of“forceful conversion” and pressured police to arrest them. Police took the eight Christians to thestation for questioning.

Page | 20

RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It Rajasthan covers an area of 132,150sq mi or 342,239 km². The proportion of the state's total area to the total area of the country is 10.41per cent. There are about 58 million people with Christians numbering less than 1 percent of the totalpopulation.The Rajasthan government passed an anti-conversion law in the state assembly in April2006, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power. The bill is still awaitingthe governor’s assent. The BJP led the government of Rajasthan from March 1990 to November 1998,and again from December 2003 to December 2008, when the Left-of-Center Congress Party won theelection. The state is ruled by the Indian National Congress.

The incidence of Christian persecution is said to have decreased since the BJP’s defeat in the 2008 stateelection, with the exception of sporadic incidents.

17 January: In Udaipur, armed Hindu extremists allegedly from the RSS disrupted a prayer meetingand beat up Christians from Faith Calvary Church, leaving them with serious injuries.

17 August: In Pratapgarh, Rajasthan, Narayan Lal(20), volunteer teacher in a 10-day Vacation BibleSchool organized was found dead in a jungle. The family suspects that he was killed by Hindunationalist as he had been threatened a number of times by extremists prior to the incident.

26 August: In Udaipur, alleged Hindu extremists attacked evangelists Charlie John and V.M George asthey were distributing gospel tracts. The extremists damaged their vehicle, seized literature fromthem and beat them up. Police came to their rescue.

Page | 21

BIHAR

Bihar is a state situated in the eastern part of India. Its capital is Patna. Bihar is the third mostpopulated state of India with the total Population of 82.88 million, Density of population in Bihar is880 per square kilometers. Christians’ number less than 1 percent (53,137).The state is ruled byNational Democratic Alliance.

It is bordered on the north by the Kingdom of Nepal, on the west by Uttar Pradesh, south by Jharkhand,and the east by West Bengal. Bihar lies in the very fertile Gangetic plains, and is part of the Hindi-speaking heartland of India.

28 June: In Patna, miscreants with their faces covered shot a catholic priest, seriously injured him inMokama, about 100 km from Bihar’s capital Patna.

7 August: In Raxual, alleged Hindu extremists attacked Singhasini Church, pasted several pictures ofHanuman ( Hindu idol) on the church wall and threatened Christians that they will do further harm

Page | 22

PUNJAB

Punjab is a region in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It is mainly inhabited by people of theethno-linguistic Punjabi community. The region is split over two countries India and Pakistan, whichboth contain states called Punjab. The Punjabi culture is spread over various states and territories,including Haryana and Delhi. The northernmost parts of both the Indian and Pakistani states reachthe foot of the. The Pakistani side is bordered by North West Frontier while the Indian side is borderedby Himachal Pradesh.

Christians in Punjab number about 1.1 percent of the total 2.43 million populations. The state is ruledby Shiromani Akali Dal.

20 February: In Batala, Hindu extremists burned up two churches after the area Christians protestedagainst a hoarding having picture of Jesus Christ in an objectionable manner.

10 July: In Gurdaspur, police detained 12 Christians including five women after alleged Hinduextremists beat them up and filed a complaint against them of forceful conversion.

14 November: In Moti Nagar, Ludiana, alleged armed Hindu extremists beat up a Christian,Bindeshwar, and threatened to harm him and his family if they attended Sunday worship meetings.Police detained three extremists but later released them without charges

11 September: In Malerkotla town of Punjab, following rumours of burning of a Quran in the US, amob gathered and proceeded to the town's only church in Loha Bazar, shouting slogans against theUS government. The mob then set furniture of the church on fire before the police intervened

Page | 23

WEST BENGAL

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth most populous .It is alsothe seventh most populous sub-national entity in the world. West Bengal, together with Bangladeshlying on its east, forms the historical and geographical region of Bengal. To its northeast lie the statesof Assam and Sikkim and the country of Bhutan, and to its southwest lies the state of Orissa. To thewest, it borders the states of Jharkhand and Bihar, and to the northwest, Nepal.

According to the 2001 census, there were 515,150 Christians in West Bengal, or 0.6% of thepopulation. Although Mother Teresa worked in Kolkata, Christianity is a minority in Kolkata aswell.The state is ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

26 September: In Kenda, Hindu extremists stopped a worship service and dragged Christians out,saying no more prayer or worship should take place in the village and threatening to kill theChristians if they did not convert to Hinduism. The officers summoned both parties to the policestation, but the extremists threatened to kill the Christians if they went.

28 November: In Natungram, alleged Muslims radical boycotted a convert Christian woman fromIslam, restricted them from selling and buying and threatened them not to attend church servicesand to impose a fine on her if she continues to follow Jesus Christ.

Page | 24

UTTARAKHAND

According to 2001 India census, Uttarakhand had a population of approximately of 8.48 million.Hindus form the majority of the population at 85.0%, Muslims form 10.5%, Sikhs 2.5% and Christians,Buddhists, Jains and others about 0.5%. Uttarakhand is located in the northern part of India. Knownfor its natural beauty, it was carved out of Himalayan and adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh. Thepercentage of Christianity comes at about 0.5 of the total population. The state is ruled by BharatiyaJanata Party.

25 April: In Rooria, Haridwar, police arrested Pastor Jaswant Singh after Hindu extremists allegedlyfrom the Hindu Jagrang Manch (Hindu Awareness Platform) disrupted the prayer meeting, verballyabused them for their faith and later filed a complaint against the pastor of forceful conversion.

9 November: In Haridwar, Police arrested Pastor Manoj Kumar from The Indian Pentecostal Churchon false charges of 'forceful conversion' and threatened to harm his life and uttered derogatoryremarks against then Christians.

Page | 25

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Located in the northernmost state of India, mostly in the Himalayan mountains, Jammu and Kashmirshares a border with the states of Himacha Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally withthe People's Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani administered territories of AzadKashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to the west and northwest respectively. The percentage of Christianitycomes at about 0.5 of the total population. The State is ruled by National Conference in alliance withthe Indian National Congress.July 20: Foreigners Registration Officer issued a notice to a senior Christian worker, Father Jim Borstto quit India after an alleged complaint against him for indulging in forceful conversions. Father Borsthas been running Good Shepherd School since 1963.

13 September: In Tangmang town, following rumors of burning of a Quran in the US, angry mobs,torched a Christian missionary school of the Tyndale Biscoe and Mallinson Educational Society, theoffice of the social welfare department and a police vehicle. The school students are not hurt. Thebuilding was completely burned down but no students were hurt.

Page | 26

TRIPURA

Tripura is the second most populous state in North-East India, after Assam. According to the census of2001, Tripura has a total population of 3,199,203, with a density of 305 persons per square kilometer,and ranks 22nd among Indian states. It constitutes 0.31% population of India and 8.18% of theNortheast. In the 2001 census of India, Bengalis represent almost 70% of Tripura's population and thenative tribal populations represent 30% of Tripura's population. The tribal population comprisesseveral different tribes and ethnic groups with diverse languages and cultures with the largest tribalgroup being the Kokborok-speaking tribes of the Tripuri (16% of the state's population), the Jamatia,the Reang, and the Noatia tribal communities. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north,south and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east.

According to the census in 2001 there were 102,489 Christians in the state. Christians in the state aremostly from the native Tripuri people and other indigenous tribes. The state is ruled by CommunistParty of India (Marxist).

6 November: In Burburi, Hindu extremists attacked a prayer meeting and ordered the Christians notto open their mouth or make any sound while they are praying and pelted the Christians with stones.The meeting was concluded under police protection.

Page | 27

ARUNACHAL PRADESH

Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam andNagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west,and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by the People'sRepublic of China as part of South Tibet scattered over 12 towns 3862 villages, Arunachal Pradesh issaid to have the lowest density of population. In the Arunachal Pradesh, the density of population is 13persons in every square kilometer of the land with a total of about 1,091,117 with about 10.29%Christians in the state. The state is ruled by Indian National Congress.

7 October: In Hayuliang, Anjaw, Hindu extremists demolished a church structure, completelybringing it down. Lohit Mishmi Baptist Churches Association (LMBCA) lodged a police complaint thenext day, but no arrest has been made.

Rev. Dr. Richard HowellGeneral SecretaryEvangelical Fellowship of IndiaNew Delhi, India